#oneyearamadre by Olivia

Today we are kicking off my '1 year a madre' series with the super sweet Olivia Carter. I met Olivia, only once I think, through her husband that I worked with for a short stint. I have since gotten to know her best through social media. We have grand plans to get our families together and it will certainly happen one of these days! Definitely in 2016. She is mom to little girl Reese, 2 years, and baby boy Brock, five months.

One Year a Madre by Olivia Carter

What a journey motherhood is!! So many things raced through my mind as a began to think about all that I learned and felt after the first year, amazing things, hard things, all the feels big time. Since we aren't sitting down to chat over coffee, I thought I'd stick to sharing just with one thing that I am still mulling over.

Everything about me changed when I became a mom just over 2 years ago but the weight of that took a while to set in. There were obvious changes like not going to work and having to take care of another human 24/7 but it felt normal. My husband and I were both surprised initially how natural it felt, that our daughter was not as much of an "interruption" to our life as we had been told. Maybe it was good hormones, maybe we had a good baby, maybe I was just so excited about the new role I had and the insane love for my child but things felt ok for us at the beginning. None the less my life was completely new and different and I learned after that first year that I needed to take the time to process that.

Once my daughter turned one, things were so fun. I loved how she was growing and changing and became my best buddy. Her new independence gave me the opportunity to figure myself out a little better and create my new normal. Being a mother is a permanent role and there is something so beautiful about that but at the same time, overwhelming. My identity isn't just "mom." It is a part of who I am but it is noteverything that I am. I want to be honest with myself about my needs and intentional with the way I live my life. It is sometimes easier to just go with the flow and take things as they come but I didn't want more time to go by without acknowledging the change and making decisions about how and who I wanted to be. I love being a mom so so much and my kids are my greatest joy but I don't want them to be my only joy. What I continue to sift through is what that looks like in my everyday. It is a work in progress and maybe it always will be. I am grateful for the opportunity to grow and am excited to continue to learn more about myself as I journey through life, now with 2 kiddos.

Thank you so much Olivia for your participation and for kicking off this series! Truly appreciate your honesty and perspective!